OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT AND MRS. TRUMP, VICE PRESIDENT AND MRS. VANCE, AND ALL 150 CATHOLIC U.S. SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES
(LifeSiteNews) — Roman Catholics are coming to the heartbreaking realization that our bishops have not only acted improperly; they have in fact acted maliciously. They have betrayed us; we are like sheep surrounded by ravenous wolves in shepherd’s clothing. I seek to be a voice crying out on behalf of the scattered flock because my firsthand experience bears witness to the wide-scale betrayal we are all undergoing as faithful Catholics. I also seek to do everything in my power to prevent the most vulnerable from experiencing what I have.
I was a victim of priestly sexual abuse of the darkest kind. (The Wall Street Journal,[1] among many other news outlets, reported on my story). My story illustrates the criminal complicity of Cardinal Robert McElroy, who will soon be installed as the next Archbishop of Washington, D.C. It is outrageous that the Vatican has appointed McElroy to this position since he truly is the USCCB’s poster boy for sexual abuse coverups, for the misuse of taxpayer money and as a proponent of open borders.
McElroy, when bishop of San Diego, covered up the heinous crime of ritual rape committed against me by then-Father Jacob Bertrand. Although Bertrand had confessed to his felonious behavior, McElroy transferred Bertrand to another parish, putting more innocent women and girls at risk. Indeed, McElroy refused to cooperate with the legal investigations into charges against Bertrand. Bertrand was removed from ministry only after he was convicted in criminal court for rape. McElroy’s actions in protecting my ritual abuser exacerbated the mental anguish and psychological harm I suffered. His subsequent elevation to the office of cardinal revictimized me, causing me to relive the excruciating powerlessness I endured at the time of the original rape. Yet again, McElroy’s elevation to Cardinal Archbishop of Washington has continued to exacerbate this experience of acute mental anguish and psychological harm for me and many other victims. (McElroy also failed to report at least 12 accusations against his friend Cardinal Theodore McCarrick made by 12 seminarians and priests). The Vatican’s knowledge of McElroy’s criminal activities seems to motivate this elevation rather than disqualify him.
Why would anyone trust the U.S. bishops to properly care for refugees and immigrants? In the last several years we have heard about the horrible record the U.S. bishops have for covering up the sexual abuse committed by bishops and priests, for mistreatment of victims, and for refusal to cooperate with law enforcement. It is simply unconscionable to permit the U.S. bishops to participate in settling refugees and immigrants and to fund what might be a program for sexual trafficking.
In recent years, the USCCB has received over $100 million annually to settle refugees and immigrants. Since 2009, Catholic NGOs have received $1 billion to process unaccompanied minors. Most particularly, we need to learn what efforts the USCCB and subcontractors have made to track the whereabouts of these children or of vulnerable women and to ensure their safety.
Unfortunately, some have speculated that the Church itself has been involved in trafficking. Can that possibly be true? We must know. Faithful Catholics don’t believe in shoving the darkest of deeds under the rug. Rather, we pray and we fast so that the whole dastardly organized crime ring that has infiltrated our beloved Church might be exposed to the light of Jesus Christ.
It is reprehensible that the leaders of the Catholic Church in the United States have placed predator priests among peoples who are especially trusting of religious authority and who have little resources to report abuse. One study states: “Records suggest that bishops regularly treated immigrant-serving parishes as dumping grounds for serially abusive clergy. There, evidence suggests, abusers targeted minors from poor, vulnerable, and undocumented families, silencing victims with threats of deportation and further violence.”[2]
I am sending this letter on behalf of the tens of thousands of individuals who have already been abused by priests and then revictimized by bishops who covered up the crimes. We will do anything to prevent the most vulnerable from experiencing what we have experienced.
Please, I humbly implore you, protect us from our own bishops.
Gratefully yours,
Rachel Mastrogiacomo
[1] Matthew Schmitz, “Stopping the Priests Who Prey on Adults, Wall Street Journal, Sept. 13, 2108
[2] Reynolds SB. “I Will Surely Have You Deported:” Undocumenting Clergy Sexual Abuse in an Immigrant Community. Religion and American Culture. 2023: 33(1):1-34. See also: Aaron Schrank, “Immigrant Communities were the ‘Geographic Solution’ to Predator Priests,” NPR (“On All Things Considered”) NOv. 8, 2018.
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